ABSTRACT
Building consumer-brand relationships has been a central marketing paradigm for decades (Fournier 1998; Palmatier et al. 2006). The sophistication of customer relationship management (CRM) provides numerous organizational benefits, but its increasing analytical power also prompts novel ethical challenges. Firms analyze customer profitability more than ever and might actively dissolve relationships with consumers who fall short of profit metrics or require disproportionate resources (Mittal et al. 2008). For instance, in 2007, Sprint-Nextel terminated more than 1,000 customers who called its customer service too frequently. Internet-bank ING Direct closes 3 to 4 percent of accounts a month, finding it cost-prohibitive to maintain customers requiring high levels of attention (Pasha 2005). Even in medical services, provider-initiated relationship dissolution is increasing, as some doctors stop treating unprofitable Medicaid patients (Bishop et al. 2011).
